Recently, the use of nonwovens has become increased in many areas, such as with disposable diapers and disposable cleaning devices such as, for example, treated wipes. Such products are often sold as clean or sterile items, either dry or with liquid ingredients absorbed therein. Some of these are formed from spunlaced, airlaid, and other methods, and are sold as either dry wipes intended for dust or lint removal or wet wipes are saturated with various liquids. As these nonwoven substrates are used, they become soiled, abraded, torn, or clog up, or the liquid becomes depleted, in which case they are disposed of.
To date, the use of high loft nonwovens have not been used in the field of pest control traps. The most widely used pest traps consist of mechanical traps, or adhesive traps. Mechanical traps which use stored kinetic energy to enclose or crush the rodent, capture the insect or similar pest, and have the advantage of retaining the dead pest at a specific site for disposal. However, the moving parts of a mechanical trap add to the cost of manufacture. Adhesive devices have been developed which present an expanse of highly retentive adhesive along a path frequented by rodents. A rodent making contact with the adhesive will be held and prevented from departure. Eventually the rodent will become suffocated in the adhesive, or will otherwise die. The glue-containing board and dead rodent may then be disposed of as a single unit.
The costs of convenience in glue boards are of great concern. The adhesive nature of the device means that it must be shielded from contact with dirt and debris prior to use, lest its adhesive properties be reduced. Furthermore, for convenience to the user, the adhesive should be shielded from contact with clothing, hands, furniture, etc., until ready to be placed along a rodent runway.
Prior art glue boards such as shown in FIG. 1, have employed thermoformed plastic trays to contain the adhesive, usually a hot melt adhesive of sufficient adhesion as to capture a rodent that may stumble upon the tray and immobilize or otherwise retain the capture rodent thereon. However, these traps and glueboards have an efficacy that is limited due to the locations available for placement relative to where the rodents are actually traveling. Rodents may run up and down vertical pipes between building levels as well as running on structural I-beams and horizontal electrical conduits. The prior art glueboards require the use of a sufficient area of adhesive surface in order to provide an effective capture area to prevent a rodent “leveraging” itself loose. To properly capture a rodent, the body and extremities must be entrapped, lest the rodent become able to work itself free. Some prior art glue boards may have other restrictions on geometry as well, such as for example, needing to be placed horizontal. For example, glue boards using a hot melt adhesive may require horizontal placement to prevent a loss of any pool of melted adhesive occurring when ambient temperature exceeds hot melt flow temperature. Similar PRIOR ART pest control devices, such as shown in FIG. 2a-2b, targeting smaller pests like insects use cardboard or similar substrate in place of the plastic tray.